Question Time to upgrade CPU/Mobo

[rh71]

Many months back I posted about getting a 6700XT GPU (from RX 580) and it didn't help my kid's PC framerates in Fortnite / Warzone. The bottleneck is seemingly in the i5-9400F CPU so it's time to upgrade it to something modern. Along with that of course we'll need a micro ATX mobo. Is there a good combo that will come out to be < $300 and still resolve our issue? I'm guessing AMD is the way to go this time around.

Current specs:
i5-9400f
GIGABYTE B365M DS3H LGA 1151
AMD RX 6700XT
16GB RAM

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would get a Ryzen 7600 combo with a B650 mobo and 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM (EXPO-rated) for $300-400. Look for Newegg and Microcenter combos.

Or if you want to limit yourself to AM4, wait for the 5600X3D CPU to be released.

 

[rh71]

I would get a Ryzen 7600 combo with a B650 mobo and 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM (EXPO-rated) for $300-400. Look for Newegg and Microcenter combos.

Or if you want to limit yourself to AM4, wait for the 5600X3D CPU to be released.

Thanks, I found a couple bundles:
$350 - https://www.microcenter.com/product...s-v-16gb-ddr4-3200-kit,-computer-build-bundle (comes with memory)

$349 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails?ItemList=Combo.4549404

In using a site like userbenchmark to compare the 2 above CPUs (i7-12700k & 7600X) against our current i5-9400F, it shows about a ~30% improvement. Is this enough to help get the FPS we're looking for? I know it's a bit more complex than that, but I'm hopeful to get that kind of guidance since this swap would be pretty permanent. Also if going the AMD route, why the 7600 and not the 7600X if at the same price?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Don't use userbenchmark, it's not reliable, and 2, it's kind of a toss-up between the 7600 and 7600X. One is not more spectacularly faster than the other.

At launch, 7600 was $230 or $250, and 7600X was $299. Now that the 7600X is more like $249 list, it's a lot more of a toss-up.

That Newegg combo that you linked looks good.

 

[Shmee]

If you are looking to save some $, I would probably be looking at AM4. A decent B550 or X570 board, probably with a Ryzen 5700X. Of course depends on what deals you find. Also, you could reuse your RAM, if you really wanted to, as it is still DDR4. That said, I would go with 32GB of RAM for this build, and the Zen 3 chips do best with DDR4 3200 to DDR4 3800, which may not work with your current 16GB kit.

Another option to get more performance per $ would be to get something like a used Ryzen 5900X, if the price is right. The extra cores can help in some games, and the 5900X tends to boost a tad bit higher, though this can also depend on your cooling. As for cooling, keep in mind a lot of the newer CPUs don't come with a cooler.

 

[In2Photos]

Thanks, I found a couple bundles:
$350 - https://www.microcenter.com/product...s-v-16gb-ddr4-3200-kit,-computer-build-bundle (comes with memory)

$349 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails?ItemList=Combo.4549404

In using a site like userbenchmark to compare the 2 above CPUs (i7-12700k & 7600X) against our current i5-9400F, it shows about a ~30% improvement. Is this enough to help get the FPS we're looking for? I know it's a bit more complex than that, but I'm hopeful to get that kind of guidance since this swap would be pretty permanent. Also if going the AMD route, why the 7600 and not the 7600X if at the same price?

What kind of FPS are you looking for? My son gets over 144@1080p with a 5600X and a GTX1660 Super with mediumish settings. I get 144@1080p with ultra settings with a 7700 and 6800XT. If I lower the quality I can easily get 200+.

If you're upgrading I wouldn't go AM4 over AM5. If you decide to upgrade your CPU in 3-4 years again you can do it without a motherboard or RAM upgrade on AM5. With AM4 you will need a whole new CPU/Mobo/RAM upgrade again.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Current specs:
i5-9400f
GIGABYTE B365M DS3H LGA 1151
16GB RAM

Try selling these and then with that money plus $300, you could get 7800X3D with A620 or B650 mobo plus a single 24GB DDR5 stick of RAM. Gigabyte seems to be ahead in DDR5 support. The V-cache on the CPU should keep the single channel of RAM from being too much of a bottleneck and you can upgrade later if needed.

 

[rh71]

Try selling these and then with that money plus $300, you could get 7800X3D with A620 or B650 mobo plus a single 24GB DDR5 stick of RAM. Gigabyte seems to be ahead in DDR5 support. The V-cache on the CPU should keep the single channel of RAM from being too much of a bottleneck and you can upgrade later if needed.

i5-9400f
GIGABYTE B365M DS3H LGA 1151
16GB RAM

What do you think I can sell this bundle for? Something like $200 or $250? Since I tallied the new parts to be ~$500 (7600x + B650M + 32GB DDR5 + CPU Cooler), I would love for my total exchange to be only $250.

Price point of the 7800X3D seems high given that it doesn't seem to improve upon the 7600X too much.

 

[rh71]

What kind of FPS are you looking for?

I just saw my kid get 90 FPS in Warzone 2 on low/medium settings. Was hoping for 120 FPS on medium/high settings if I'm going to spend the money.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I just saw my kid get 90 FPS in Warzone 2 on low/medium settings.

Try running it with FSR 2.1 Balanced profile and see how much the fps improve.

 

[igor_kavinski]

What do you think I can sell this bundle for?

Put it up for sale for $250.

Realistically speaking though, expect something like $180.

 

[rh71]

Jumped on this 7700X + GSkill 32GB RAM bundle for $287. https://www.microcenter.com/product...5-32gb-ddr5-6000-dual-channel,-cpu-ram-bundle

There's also a $25 off $100 coupon out there. Maybe pick an AsRock B650M PG Riptide for $150 and a ~$40 Hyper 212 cooler.

 

[rh71]

Put it up for sale for $250.

Realistically speaking though, expect something like $180.

Other than FS here and eBay, where else is a dependable place to sell used PC parts? Is it more likely to sell as a whole bundle?

 

[igor_kavinski]

Other than FS here and eBay, where else is a dependable place to sell used PC parts? Is it more likely to sell as a whole bundle?

I'm not in the US so I'm not sure. Craigslist?

Yeah, it's more likely that someone may want the whole bundle coz then they know everything will work without issue.

 

[rh71]

Just to report back, I was able to do the entire swap to a 7700X / B650M / 32GB DDR5 / Hyper 212 Cooler for $203 after Micro Center coupons and selling what I had. FPS is basically maxed at 144FPS everywhere. Thanks guys!

 

[aigomorla]

Ugh i came too late to this... but you did a sidegrade IMO when it comes to gaming.
Unless your playing at a low resolution, the CPU is never the bottleneck, especially a 9700f.
Your bottleneck is always the GPU and I/O (Hard Disk).

I would of Honestly tried to get a higher class GPU after trading / swaping the 6700XT, to a 6800XT or a 6950XT.
Also I would of setup a Raid-0 array using 2-3 SATA SSD's for faster Access time.
All you need to do is install 2-3 SSD's and then use Windows Storage Space to setup a Raid-0 array just for the game folder.

This would also give you plenty of room to store games, and having 2-3 SSD's in Raid-0 is about the cap your SATA 6G can handle.

If you still have some budget left, i recommend the SSD route since the GPU route will probably be too expensive now.